The education system in Assam is the best among the other states of North-East Region.The modern age of Education in Assam began with the annexation of Assam with the British Empire in accordance with the treaty of Yandaboo in 1826. In 1840 Late W. Robinson was appointed as the first Inspector of Schools. In that period the political and social scenario of Assam was unstable and very less importance was given to education sector. The British Government had taken initiatives with the help of some local people to improve education system. As a result by the year 1875, the number of educational institution for general education increased to 1,293. Most of the changes and developments have been occurred since independence in 1947. After Independence the government has taken major steps in education sector as it was the vital factor to National Progress and security. The construction of Gauhati University building was taken up during the period and an amount of Rs.43 lakhs was allocated for the purpose.

In terms of education, Assam has developed into a top educational destination at the state as well as at the national level. To enhance the status of Assam education, the state government has introduced many innovative education polices. It's capital city; Guwahati is a key destination for higher education for students of the whole of north-eastern region.Initiatives taken by the Government during five year plans.

In 1951-52 the policy for planned development was adopted for the first time in the country. Construction of Guwahati University was started in that period.

In the second five year plan construction of Guwahati university was completed and a Govt. Post-Graduate Training College for training of Secondary teachers was established at Jorhat. During the third plan Board of secondary Education, State Institute of Education, Dibrugarh University was established. In that period Sanskrit Education was also encouraged. 18 out of 50 Tols and one Sanskrit College were established at that time.

In fourth five year plan BT College was established. New schooling pattern was introduced (on recommendation of Kothari Commission). As a result one year pre-university was changed to two year classes. In 1970 a Government Sanskrit College was established and so on.

Gauhati University

The Education system of Assam is the schools and Colleges of Assam are either run by the state government or private organization. The schools in Assam are affiliated either to State Education Board, Assam (SEBA), Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), or to the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE).

The state Education Department gives special attention to the Primary sector in Assam.School education in Assam is imparted through a number of pre-primary, primary,middle, high and higher secondary schools. The Government of Assam has implemented the free and compulsory education policy for students up to the age of 14. The syllabus at primary schools is set up the Directorate of Elementary Education, Assam.

The medium of instruction in Assam at the school level is usually Assamese or English.The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) affiliated schools in the state use English as their medium of instruction. English is also used to teach at most higher educational institutions in Assam.

After completing the secondary education that involves 10 years of schooling, students usually enroll in higher secondary education in any one of the three disciplines - Science, Commerce and Arts. Students can opt for Business Management, Computer Application Architecture and other vocational courses also. Apart from this there are teacher training institutes, special schools for the differently abled persons. Assam has most wide-ranging networks of higher educational institutions in the whole of North-Eastern region of India

Directorate of Higher Education,Assam

Presence of institutions like the National Institute of Technology, Silchar; Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati and Tezpur University (a Central University) and several others help to add stature to the higher education system of Assam. Universities in Assam have now shifted the emphasis from conventional courses to professional and technical job oriented courses while giving sanction to new courses.

The state is also home to several elite higher education institutions which include:

Gauhati University

Dibrugarh University

Assam Medical College (Dibrugarh)

Guwahati Medical College

Assam Agricultural University (Jorhat)

Assam Engineering College (Guwahati)

K.K. Handique State Open University

Jorhat Engineering College (Jorhat)

Assam University

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-G)

IIT-G

Gauhati Medical College

Today, the state of Assam is home to six universities, one deemed university, one institute of national importance and several reputed professional institutions.

The colleges of Assam (including medical, engineering and law colleges) are affiliated to Gauhati University, Dibrugarh University, Assam University and the Assam Agricultural University.

Educational Institutes

Number

Name of the Institute

University

6

♦Dibrugarh University at Dibrugarh

♦Gauhati University at Guwahati

♦Assam University at Silchar

Tezpur University at Tezpur

♦Assam Agricultural University at Jorhat

♦K.K.Handique State Open niversity

Engineering Colleges

4

♦National Institute of Technology, Silchar

♦Jorhat Engineering College at Jorhat

♦Assam Engineering College at Guwahati

♦Indian Institute of Technology at Guwahati

Medical Colleges

3

♦Assam Medical College at Dibrugarh

♦Guwahati Medical College at Guwahati

♦Silchar Medical College at Silchar

List of districts wise schools in Assam:

District

Pre Primary Schools

Primary Schools

Middle Schools

High School

Higher Secondary

Dhubri

-

1624l

434

156

34

Kokrajhar

2

1282

218

73

15

Bongaigaon

5

965

261

116

17

Goalpara

-

1150

286

148

13

Barpeta

17

2064

417

283

41

Nalbari

9

1599

386

256

28

Kamrup

49

2490

518

484

65

Darrang

11

1581

281

220

31

Sonitpur

13

1465

280

212

36

Lakhimpur

1

1648

534

254

25

Dhemaji

9

1078

283

146

13

Morigaon

-

921

292

127

14

Nagaon

21

2230

575

304

58

Golaghat

7

1125

265

162

23

Jorhat

18

1761

443

253

26

Sibsagar

12

1805

426

185

41

Dibrugarh

12

1304

382

141

25

Tinsukia

5

1080

230

106

19

Karbi Anglong

-

1162

286

163

12

North Cachar Hills

-

6060

205

68

6

Karimganj

4

1402

347

92

25

Hailakandi

2

1127

260

40

9

Cachar

2

1713

410

147

28

The demand of technical education in the state has been well understood by the State Government and due attention is being paid towards rapid development in this field.The institutions offering professional courses are rapidly growing along with the other institutions which mean the students of Assam will be exposed to newer areas of opportunities. Thus, the whole educational scenario of Assam is improving gradually.

The state has recently made strides in setting up several high standard institutions to provide education in the field of engineering and management. Assam has an overall literacy rate of 64.28%. While male literacy rate is at 71.93%, the female literacy rate however is only at 56.03%, a cause for concern for the State Government.

All universities, Government Colleges, Non-Government Colleges, Adhoc Colleges,Affiliated Colleges, Adhoc Law Colleges, Asom Publication Board, ABILAC, Literary and Voluntary Organizations, Sanskrit and Pli-Prakrit Tols are fall under the Higher Education Department. Numbers of such institutions are given below :

S.No

Institution Type

Number Of Institutions

1

Universities

3

2

Government Colleges

6

3

Non-Government Colleges

189

4

Adhoc Colleges

27

5

Adhoc Law Colleges

7

6

Affiliated Colleges

117

7

Provincials Sanskrit and Law Colleges

78

8

Adhoc Sanskrit Colleges

16

9

Literary and Voluntary Organizations

12

State Council of Educational Research & Training Department looks after the academic activities and professional activities at the school level. It was set up in 1985 as a state level counterpart of NCERT. SCERT is considered as the central pillar of academic support at the Elementary Level. Following institutions are under SCERT :

S.No

Institution Type

Number Of Institutions

1

District Institution of Education and Training

33

2

B.Ed College/College of Teacher Education

4

3

Normal School

10

4

Basic Training Center

29

5

Pre-primary Teacher Training Center

1

6

Hindi Training College

1

7

Hindi Teacher Training Center

2

There are 777 staffs in the non-plan sector, 7 in the State-Plan Sector, and 848 under CS Scheme and all together there are 1634 staffs in the Department.

The first Technical Institute was established in 1920 and in 1927 The Prince of Wales Institutes of Engineering & Technology was established in Jorhat. In 1955 Assam Engineering College was established. This was followed by Jorhat Engineering College,5 Polytechnic Colleges, Regional Engineering Colleges and many more. Few more courses in Management, Computer Application, Pharmacy, Hotel Management, and Art & Craft were introduced in later period. Under AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) courses like Motion Picture Photography, Audiography and Sound Engineering, Film & Video Editing were introduced in Guwahati University, Tezpur University, and Dibrugarh University.

S.No

Institution Type

Number Of Institutions

1

Engineering Colleges

4

2

Polytechnic Colleges

8

3

Junior Technical Colleges

2

There are institutions that provide literacy and Adult Education to all illiterates of age group 15-35 years in the state. They also organize income generating programmes for rural poor.

During British Period the Provincial Government of Assam established Madrassa Education Board in 1934 in Sylhet with 9 Madrassa to educate the Muslim people. After Independence the institution was renamed as State Madrassasa Education Board, Assam.The numbers of Madrassa are 707 in Assam.

S.No

Institution Type

Number Of Institutions

1

Pre-Senior Madrassasa (Recognized by Board)

524

2

Senior Madrassasa (Recognized by Board)

100

3

Arabic College (Recognized by Board)

01

4

Title Madrassasa (Recognized by Board)

08

5

Senior Madrassasa (Provincials)

64

6

Title Madrassasa (Provincialised)

06

7

Arabic College (Provincialised)

04

Over all, the role of government in education was limited because of the dominance of private emergence of private sectors. Now government has taken the policy of de-linking pre-degree courses from the colleges. Besides the private institutions offers more job oriented courses and courses of commercial interests.